Ethics Scandals in Organizations

A growing number of ethics scandals have surfaced over the past few decades. Scandals in the corporate world—involving financial fraud, corruption, bribery, mistreatment of employees, among other types of misconduct—have resulted in decreased stakeholder and consumer trust, declining loyalty and commitment, as well as fines and major penalties for implicated organizations. This entry examines common types of ethical issues faced by today’s organizations, provides relevant examples of prominent scandals to further illustrate the ethical issues involved, reviews research findings regarding individual and organizational factors affecting ethical decision making, and concludes with a brief discussion of legal and organizational methods for managing ethical risk.